Building construction



ROBERT z. DRAKE, or OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed November 2, 1923. Serial No. 672,370.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that L Roenn'r Z. DRAKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Building Constructions, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide such a construction for a compartment or box or for the walls, ceiling and floor of a building that air will be prevented from moving therefrom, and air from the atmosphere will be excluded.

The invention includes a tongue and groove connection of such proportion for the strips, boards or planks used for the floor, walls, and ceiling of a building, or for a compartment or box, that channels or recesses will be formed at the joints, to be filled with an adhesive, impervious element of plastic consistency, thereby providing an air tight connection or joint for the abutting strips, planks or boards, the result being that ingress or egress of air will be prevented, this construction being of great advantage for use for buildings generally and particularly those used for storage purposes or for seasoning lumber.

lVith the foregoing object in view the invention presents a novel and useful construction, combination and arrangement of parts as described herein and claimed, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that changes in form, size, proportion of parts and minor details may be made as found to be of advantage, said changes being determined by the scope of the invention as claimed.

In the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 are end views illustrating my improvement, Fig. 1 Showing grooves for receiving the tongues of adjacent strips when connected, the grooves being of such proportions that channels will be formed,'to be filled with adhesive material. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a plurality of channels formed in each strip or plank to be filled with adhesive material. Figs. 3 and 4 are broken away details in side elevation, Fig. 3 being partly in section to show two of the filled channels in the plank or strip illustrated in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 being partly in sec tion to show a filled channel illustrated in Fig. 1.

In the use of the invention, the number of tongues and grooves may vary, depending upon the thickness of the strips, boards or planks to be employed andtheir uses, but in all instances the operation will be the same. For purposes of description I have shown in the drawing comparatively attenuated strips 5, each having a tongue 6 and a groove 7 at its respective edges, said strips being shown in connected relation, each groove 7 being adapted to receive a tongue 6, the depth of the grooves being greater than the width of the tongue and thereby forming channels 8, between the tongues and inner walls of the grooves; and by use of a pump or other suitable means (not shown) these channels may be filled with plastic, impervious, adhesive material, which'becomes hardened and effectively prevents a movement of air, gases or liquids in any part of a channel.

Also, in the drawing I have shown planks or lumber strips 9 of greater thickness than as above described, each being provided at one of its edges with tongues a, b and 0, and grooves 10 and 11, its opposite edge being provided with'tongues (l and e and a groove 12, these tongues being of lesser width than the depth. of the recesses in which they engage when connected to form a wall, floor or ceiling, or wall of a box or compartment, and thereby forming channels, respectively indicated at m, g and e, and these channels may be filled, as above described, for pre venting any movement of air, gases or liquids through the joints thus provided.

In the practice of the invention any suitable number of tongues and grooves may be employed. While the sectioned parts shown in Fig. 3 illustrate only two of the filled channels, it is believedthat the channel 3 is sufiiciently shown in Fig. 2 to answer the purposes of the description.

While in Fig. 2 the widths of the tongues have not been shown to be uniform, this feature is not important so far as circulation of air or gases is concerned, since operation depends upon providing channels having a sufficient area in cross-section to permit them to be filled in a practical manner, and it is obvious that a passage of air. gas or liquid through one ofthe joints could not occur except by moving through one or more fillers, and since. the material for a filler is of plastic consistency at the time it is placed in the channels, each channel may be filled in its entirety, which effectively seals the joint, for the purpose described.

I claim as my invention,-

In building construction, a strip having parallel sides and provided with tongues of unequal width extending parallel with its sides, a second strip provided with grooves of unequal depth, said strips being adapted to be disposed with their respective sides in alignment, the grooves receiving the tongues of the first named strip, said grooves having a greater depth than the Width of the tongues and providing channels between the tongues and inner walls of said grooves, and a plastic adhesive filler in said channels.

In testimony whereof, I have affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT Z. DRAKE. Witnesses:

HIRAM A. STUReEs, ARTHUR H. STUReEs. 

